Norwayne plows through a unique art project

By THOMAS DOOHANStaff Writer Published: March 27, 2014 4:00 AM

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NORWAYNE DISTRICT -- While March is Art in our Schools Month, Norwayne High School art teacher Bethany Lehman said art happens all the time in the school.

From attending the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Cleveland Auto Show to learn about automotive design to participating in the Tri-County ESC's ChARTer program in April, she said students are participating in art projects all over the place. One of the most significant ones, Lehman said, was a piece of functional art that can be seen on area roads -- a snow plow.

"We called it an art explosion," she said, describing the theme for the project.

Nineteen students helped to paint pictures of art supplies and splashes of color exploding off the surface of the snow plow. The painted snow plow was provided by the Ohio Department of Transportation through its Paint the Plow Project, which had schools across the state painting snow plows last fall. She said the agency put the snow plows on trucks and put them to use as functional art.

"Some students really liked it," Lehman said.

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Every project has things about it some students do not like, but she said the fact this project gave students an opportunity to see their art out in the community made it particularly popular. Usually, Lehman said, there are not many opportunities for students to see their art out in the community.

"It was really fun for the students' art work to be out around town," Leh-man said.

Sophomore art student Taylor Sheppard said it was definitely fun. She said it was something she could work on every day. After all of the work, Sheppard said she was quite proud of the results.

"It looked great," she said. "Your hard work pays off."

Sheppard said it was cool because painting is a great way to express yourself, but not always good for broadcasting expression. She said the snow plow took her expression out into the community and showed everyone the quality of Norwayne's art programs. Sheppard said it was even featured in some local parades.

However, Sheppard said, her favorite part of the project was the opportunity to get together with friends and paint.

Since the blades were functional and destined to clear the salty roads of snow and ice, preventative measures were taken to keep the art pristine. Lehman said the snow plow blades were given a clear coat finish to protect them from the elements.

She said when she saw a truck driving the snow plow blade through Wooster earlier in the season it looked good. However, the art teacher said despite their efforts to keep the art looking its best it is likely to deteriorate over time.

Reporter Thomas Doohan can be reached at 330-287-1635 or tdoohan@the-daily-record.com.